


Stay

by ErenLeger270



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Carl and Ron put aside their problems for each other, Carl deals with so much shit, Friendship/Love, M/M, Male Friendship, Multi, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Rape Aftermath, Rape/Non-con Elements, Ron does too and he breaks, Trust, WARNED I TELL YOU, the claimers are douches, the claimers have interest in gathering teenagers you have been warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-04 08:21:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5327234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErenLeger270/pseuds/ErenLeger270
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ron has trouble falling asleep, he'll have to trust that Carl will stay.</p><p>He'll have to because so much has happened, and he's so very tired. In the haven of The Claimers, Ron has claimed this spot and this is where he will close his eyes so that he can finally go to sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something So Stupid

At this point, Ron wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there, staring up at the catwalk by the gate, for no apparent reason, with the blinding sun making it hard to see. At some point, his legs had gotten tired, so now he was just sitting down in the grass, waiting, watching and idly pulling out strands of green from the lawn.

His eyes seemed to follow Rick Grimes every movement; his choppy back and forth pacing, the way he rubbed his face nervously every stupid damn minute, the way his gaze continued to scan the land outside the walls of Alexandria, looking for that _sign_.

That sign that, perhaps, his son--Carl Grimes, was still alive.

It had been a couple of days since that idiot had disappeared, deciding that Enid needed to be brought back to the safe-zone after having been gone for more than a few hours. Ever since then, if Rick wasn’t making trips in search of him, he was constantly at the catwalk as if waiting for his son to come running home.

And as much as Ron despised Carl for what his father had done to his, he wasn’t about to let this guy pull an Enid on him. If something happened to Carl, it wasn’t going to rest on his conscious that he could have stopped him.

As he watched the dark haired male uncover his hidden hole under the wall’s structure, he threatened to tell Rick what he was doing. He told him that the moment he crawled under that dug up hole and was on the other side, he’d run and go find his father as soon as possible which earned him a glare from the young Grimes.

Of course, that sort of thinking had been akin to instinct due to his dealings with his ex-girlfriend in the past and when he realized that _'hey, but if Carl does end up getting killed…'_

Maybe that was what he _wanted_.

Still, it puzzled Ron to no end why he had decided something _so stupid_. Carl had even made it clear himself that it’s not dangerous to go outside of the walls _if you know what you’re doing_ , and he obviously knew that Enid was one of those people. She knew what she was doing out there so there was no need to go after her.

The way Ron saw it; if she wanted to leave and never come back, if she wanted to be alone _that_ badly and leave this safe, walled community and her boyfriend behind, then let her. Maybe it wasn’t even that she wanted to be alone, maybe she just wanted to be _dead_.

At this point, Ron wasn’t even sure that he cared about what happened to Enid now. He had told her countless of times to stop sneaking out, especially without him or somebody else with her or at least being aware of it, and she never seemed to listen to a word he said.

Honestly, what was the point of being in a relationship with her when the communication between them was absolute shit?

The thought made Ron scrunch up his face and he adjusted his sitting position, finding himself startled by a sudden cold metal pushing up against his side. Pulling up the hem of his shirt, he was once again reminded of the small handgun that he had stuck into one of his belt loops.

That’s right. He had almost forgotten that Rick was allowing him to walk around with it so that he could get use to the feeling of carrying one.

Hopefully, it was a good thing that it was beginning to feel like it wasn’t there at all.

It wouldn’t be anyway, he’d put it to good use at some point and surely that would be soon.

“.....Hey, umm. Ron?”

At the sound of his name, Ron looked up to see a slightly fidgeting Mikey standing over him with his mouth twisted in an odd frown. He looked a little upset and whatever he was going to ask, Ron dreaded it as it seemed he always asked the same question at least once a day.

The son of Pete Anderson _tried_ to smile at darker haired male. “Yeah, Mikey?”

However, it didn’t seem like the smile did much. Either that, or his smile was obviously strained and it made the other uncomfortable because instead of making eye contact, he settled for staring at his feet and leaning from left to right ineptly. “You think….you think that Carl and Enid are going to come back soon? It’s been quiet without all four of us hanging out together.”

Mikey’s gaze flickered to him now and he smiled after that. And oh god, did he smile so awkwardly that it kind of hurt Ron on the inside. He really just wanted to be _normal_ , huh? He just wanted to be in a safe environment with friends surrounding him.

And Carl and Enid were fucking it up.

But as soft as Ron wanted to be with Mikey, the mention of his ex-girlfriend’s name left his blood boiling and he sucked in an annoyed breath, answering almost directly after his friend’s last word with, “Enid is probably dead. Forget her, man.”

The chaste gleam in Mikey’s dark eyes died and it was evident in his face that he was taken aback by Ron’s cruel claim. His look of astonishment didn’t last very long though, realizing that he probably shouldn’t have brought up her name in the first place and he quickly fixed his mistake. “Well….what about Carl then? He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who just dies. Maybe, we can go find him-”

Ron rolled his eyes and the sharpness in his following retort was undeniable, making Mikey cringe for his second mistake. “Yes, because that’s what we _fucking_ need, Mikey. To go out and risk our lives like Carl, who’s probably fucking dead like fucking Enid, _right_?”

Nicholas’ son blinked, staring at Ron who had now turned his head and was challenging him with an ungodly glare. After a few moments, he opened his mouth as if he were about to defend himself, but no words came out and he simply spun away, deciding it was best to end the conversation there.

He left Ron sitting there on the grassy lawn, eyebrows furrowed together in a seething anger and mouth upturned in a disgusting manner. The question itself had been no surprise, but for Mikey to even go as far as saying that they should leave the safety of the walls? To do _what_ exactly? Go look for two people who were probably long gone and rotting underground?

Or worse, wandering around as one of the walkers?

_Funny, Mikey. Fucking hilarious._

To keep from going livid, Ron turned his attention back to Rick who was now descending the ladder that led to the catwalk. Even from the distance he was at, he could see how tense the man was, gripping the ladder’s rails so hard that the muscles he had noticeably protruded out his forearms.

Ron figured it was time to take his opportunity and stood up, running over to the Grimes just as he got to the ground.

“Hey, Rick?”

The man turned to him and made brief eye contact with the younger male before beginning to walk off in the direction of the houses, leaving the latter to follow after him. “Yeah?”

“I’ve been thinking….” Ron started, picking up his pace so that he walked as the other’s equal, side by side with him. “I can’t waste bullets on cans and bottles or whatever...cause you know, that would be a waste of bullets, and I’ve been carrying the gun around like you told me to.”

“Yeah?”

“And I feel used to it being in my belt loop…”

“Uh huh…?”

To Rick, he may have sounded like he was rambling on. And to Ron, he thought he was rambling on himself, finding it easier said than done to get to his question under the dangerous scrutiny of Rick Grimes. It was hard enough being _this_ close to the man who had killed his father, but forcing conversation with him was a lot worse than Ron had anticipated.

Out of nervousness, he ended up walking ahead of Rick and turned just as he pushed out his question. It came out in a mess of jumbled, uncertain words. “Can we go outside the walls and practice for real?”

Rick stopped.

And so did Ron.

The long, uncomfortable length of silence and the piercing, contorted gaze of Rick left Ron fumbling to add more fuel to the fire before he had a chance to kill the flame.

“I mean….” Ron scratched the top of his head before he looked to the ground. “I just want to go out there with you this time and I want to bring Carl back to Alexandria. Mikey really misses him, and so do I.”

With the pause that followed, it was obvious that Rick was taking a lot of things into account. He was probably wondering what difference it would make to bring Ron along when his trips outside to find his son always remained failures. He was probably thinking about the risk of having another person--a _kid_ , no less--to protect while he was out there.

Ron held his saddened look, awaiting Rick’s answer with hopes that he’ll let him go.

“For target practice _only_ ,” Rick warned in a quiet whisper, leaning in close to Ron as if to emphasize the idea. “Don’t do anything rash. Do you understand?”

When the young Anderson’s face brightened and he nodded in confirmation, Rick left him standing in the streets, but he didn’t see.

He didn’t see the way Ron’s smile faded after the seconds that followed his departure. He didn’t see the twisted look that slipped back into his features that was something similiar to the way a wicked man grinned after he realized that he had just won.

This was the perfect chance to off Rick Grimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't mind me, just exploring what could be the beautiful friendship or Ron and Carl--hsghsghsg. 
> 
> My first time writing TWD~ I'd like to know how I did so comments are appreciated!
> 
> Chapters might get longer in the future ^^


	2. Enforcing the Rules

The sound of leaves crunched underfoot as a mob of men, a young girl and a fifteen year old boy traversed through the woods for their next camp site. The group that referred to themselves as the  _ Claimers  _ was led by a large, thick-built man named Joe. While he led the expedition at the front lines with female brunette tailing behind him, Carl Grimes lagged at the very back.

His hands were bound together in front of him with thick rope and his constant struggle for the last half an hour was already leaving the skin of his wrists irritated. His hair was a mess, soaked with his own sweat and his head lacked his father’s sheriff hat that was now being worn by one of the Claimers named Dan. 

Days had gone by, and Carl had been debating about this for quite some time now. Having his gun confiscated from him a long time ago, the only thing useful that he had on himself was a rusted knife that he had found on the floor yesterday. But was that really enough to take out an entire gang of grown men? Still, even if it’s use served its purpose and he managed to escape, Carl had no doubt they’d pursue him. 

And he would never forgive himself if they tracked him all the way back to Alexandria and wrecked havoc upon the walled community and its innocent people.

As disgusting as the thought was, he knew Joe, he knew Dan, he knew every single one of these twisted men and they’d be far too  _ excited  _ to find not only children there, but women, too.

The thought of them even touching Michonne, or Jessie, or Maggie, Mikey, Ron--or pretty much  _ anybody  _ there was enough to make Carl livid. He had to close his eyes eventually and breathe in through his nose to keep doing anything irrational.

Maybe, Ron had been right all along. Maybe he shouldn’t have left by himself to go find Enid who most likely had no plans of returning to Alexandria. Now that he thought about it, what was he going to do once he found her anyway? Force her back? 

There was no way that would work. She was definitely much stronger than that, and if she didn’t want to go back, she wouldn’t allow him to take her.

And considering the time he had spent with her, it was obvious she didn’t want to stick around and lose people, no matter what he told her. That was just her ideology, and  _ honestly _ , he understood where she was coming from.

He just wanted to turn her around was all.

Speaking of her, Enid was the said brunette tailing behind Joe at the front of the group and Carl had barely looked away from her since bumping into the Claimers. What she had been doing with them, he had no idea and he’s never had the chance to ask her.

During his trek to find her, he ended up discovering a lone van that had somehow become stranded in the middle of the woods. He figured it had been abandoned if not due to lack of gas, then perhaps to walkers. There wasn't much inside, but Carl was lucky that he wouldn't have to drag out dead bodies. It didn't smell good, but it didn't smell like corpses either so that made it easier to sleep in. 

Carl wasn't sure how much time he had spent napping in the back of that van, but it felt as if voices coming from outside snapped him awake only minutes later. Startled upright, he was already grasping for his pistol and didn't dare breathe as the voices continued.

Long story short, the first person he had seen was Enid herself. She had opened up the back of the van to find a familiar face with his gun poised at her. Though nothing seemed to surprise this girl anymore, she appeared blatantly caught off guard by her discovery and Carl held the same disposition, slowly lowering his weapon.

He didn't get to say anything to her, not even that entire speech he had conducted inside his head to try to persuade her into coming back home. Instead, she watched as a large man snuck in from the passenger side of the door and threw all his weight down onto an unsuspecting Carl. 

With the way she silently stood by, allowing a couple of other men to gang up on him as he struggled to get free, Carl figured she was with this group. The lack of her aid led him to believe that she didn't want her group knowing they had connections with one another.

For that reason, he made no attempts to talk to her. 

She avoided him like the plague anyway. If she ever ended up being even five inches close to him, she refused to make any sort of eye contact with him, even if he looked her way. However, it was apparent that she wanted to say something, considering that she shot him glances every now and then as long as they had good distance between them.

She probably figured that the distance meant that he wouldn’t catch her random glances. But the fact of the matter was that he caught most of her sudden gazes regardless of the distance. The situation at hand had called for his senses to sharpen tenfold.

Still, it was a surprise to him as he thought she'd rather be alone, but she could have her own agenda. If he weren’t being eyed all the time by the other men, he’d probably make some sort of attempt to talk to her, but he didn’t want to risk whatever relationship she had built here. 

Knowing Enid, if she were here, dealing with these nasty men, then she probably had a good reason for it. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around what reason was good enough, though.

It would be much better and safer for her to stay at Alexandria and he just wanted to tell her that, maybe convince her of it and bring her back home.

That was all he wanted and now he found himself in this shit situation, walking around with a bunch of stinking assholes with tied hands and no gun. And to make matters worse, he also had a pervert on his ass and he’s lucky that touching is the only thing Dan has done to him so far.

Carl’s eyes fell to the rusted knife he managed to slip into the big pocket of jeans earlier. It’s black handle would have been smooth if it wasn’t for the grime that had stuck to it. The blade was just as dirty, and stabbing someone with it would definitely cause a nasty bacterial infection if left untreated. That sounded like a pretty fucked up goodbye present, but one well-deserved, especially for Dan.

“...Jackpot! Claimed,” Len said, crouching over by a nearby tree to retrieve whatever it was that he had just found.The entire group stopped and Carl watched the bearded man hold up a limp carcass of a white rabbit. Though it seemed fresh by the looks of it, flies flew every which way the moment he picked it up, hinting that it might have been there for longer than it seems.

Lou, a slightly older looking man, shot the animal corpse a weird glance. “I don’t know if you want to eat that. It doesn’t look all that new….” He muttered.

As if challenged, Len turned on him. “I see nothin’ wrong with it. Look here,” He sniped, dangling the rabbit corpse up in the air and closing in on Lou. “It’s fresher than most of the decaying shit out here. Hardly even decaying yet. You’re just being a priss ‘cause there were a couple of bugs on it.” He wiggled its body in front of the man’s unwavering face and hissed once again with a little more force, “Claimed.”

“Okay,” Lou said with a shrug. “Eat that if you want, but don’t come complaining to me when your stomach flips all around town on you.”

“Don’t come complaining to me when your stomach is growlin’. When that happens, you’re gonna wish you had some of this hare.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” A familiar voice demanded, making Len back off with a roll of his eyes and proceed to toss his dinner into his bag. On the other hand, Lou showed lack of irritation and instead looked a little more than pleased to see Len silenced.

Joe, the one who had spoke, didn’t even bother coming back to square up with the younger man like he did with anyone who tried his patience. He simply threw Len an aggravated glare, one that was not only mixed with his dislike towards the man, but also with the annoyance of having passed by absolutely nothing in the past half hour. 

Even with his distance, Carl could see the exasperation hinted in Joe’s facial features as he took a second to check his surroundings. “Five minute break,” he said, his eyes catching sight of a lone and stumbling walker nearby. 

It noticed them rather quickly and started heading in their direction with an intention to eat. However, nobody flinched. They simply minded their own business and distracted themselves with finding a spot to claim while Joe unsheathed his machete to take care of the stray walking corpse. “Oh, and someone make sure he doesn’t run off,” the older man commanded, gesturing to the boy with his blade before going off to put the walker out of its misery.

Enid glanced at Carl momentarily and their eyes locked, something that didn’t happen very often. However, she didn’t hold the gaze for long, turning her attention to her feet before deciding to find a tree to lean against for the time being.

Used to this kind of treatment from her, Carl immediately abandoned the hope of her coming to be his watchdog and his blue eyes fell.

Unfortunately, it was Dan who decided to take the order and the scruffy man stalked over to Carl with a nasty grin and a sort of excitement lighting his face. He always had an expression similar to that whenever he looked over at the boy and it made the young Grimes cringe every time.

Dan grabbed Carl’s tied hands and forceful yanked him over to the tree where he had dropped his backpack, ignoring the challenging glare the boy was giving him. “Claimed,” he called, pressing down on Carl’s shoulders with both hands so that he’d sit down. Once Carl was on the ground and situated, Dan crouched down to his level to join him and shot him a cruel smirk.

Though the last thing Carl wanted to do was make eye contact with Dan, he didn’t want to buckle under this guy. Even if it meant dealing with his bad breath the moment he opened his mouth, he was going to show this man that he wasn’t someone to mess with. His blue eyes were sharp and calculating when he turned his head to look at the man who had now given himself the title of a child molester. 

“Aw, sweet widdle Carl looks mad,” Dan crooned with a feigned child-like voice, allowing a little chuckle to follow shortly.

Tony, a darker-skinned claimer, walked by the two and didn’t seem to plan on sticking around, but stopped anyway, regarding Carl with raised eyebrows. “I’d watch myself if I were you, Dan. With that look he’s giving you, no doubt he’ll piss on your grave even after he murders you.”

Dan didn’t even turn to Tony, he simply shook his head with a grin on his face, continuing to accept Carl’s challenging glare. “If anyone is going to their grave first, it’s this little shit. That would be a shame though, I wouldn’t mind keeping him for myself.” As if entranced by the boy, Dan reached up to stroke the boy’s hair. “I bet this is pretty and soft when well kept. I should find you a brush.”

“Okay, now you’re just being creepy,” Tony murmured, walking off without waiting for a response to his comment.

“Maybe...” Dan whispered, more to himself than to anybody else.

When Dan’s hand ran low enough, finding the ends of his hair and reaching his neck, Carl suddenly turned his head and bit down hard on the flesh of his finger. Startled, Dan jerked his hand back and cursed under his breath quietly, quirking an eyebrow at the boy after briefly examining the attacked area. The other Claimers who noticed seemed equally as surprised by the sudden assault stared on, Enid being the only one who held a faint smile on her face.

Carl didn’t even flinch, eyes locked on Dan as if he would gladly do it again if given the chance to. And he would. Without a doubt.

A howl of cackling stole Dan’s attention and he found Len sitting nearby, hands slapping his knees in his hysterical fit of laughter. “Jesus, Dan! You’re just pissin’ off the kid more and more!” He sucked in a breath in a futile effort to calm himself. “Sooner or later, he’s gonna pop a cap in your ass! Keep it up. Seriously.”

Lacking a retaliation, Dan rolled his eyes and looked back towards Carl with a cold, challenging gaze. He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a small pocket knife, flicking it open in one swift movement. The metal of the blade was shockingly cool against Carl’s jawline, but he remained still despite it and refused to avert Dan’s leer. 

“If I were you, I’d watch myself,” he warned.

Even with the sharp edges of the blade pressing dangerously against his face, Carl was thinking of a million snarky remarks to say to this man. None of which came out of his mouth, though. 

He wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t about to put his life on the line just so he could have the satisfaction of spitting on Dan’s ego. He had family and friends to return to.

_ Family and friends… _

Friends, who were even his own age for once. Mikey, Ron…

Now that Carl thought about it, the people back at Alexandria had hardly crossed his mind since he left. Sure, every now and then, he thought about how much he missed Carol’s cooking, Judith’s crying, his father’s unwavering exterior, or Michonne’s odd ways of trying to cheer him up when he seemed sad, but it was never too often. 

What mostly occupied his mind was when and how he could make his escape, or how far away he was getting from home, or when his next meal would be (even though Enid and Dan often tossed him things every now and then). Before he had bumped into the group, he usually only thought about what he would say to Enid when he finally found her, but that was hardly on his mind now.

Carl figured that Enid was using the Claimers for her own interests not only because she preferred to be a loner anyway, but this crowd also didn’t seem like her typical “family” (for lack of a better word.) Whatever she was planning, he wasn’t going to get in the way of that now. Once he manages to get himself out of this mess, he’ll give her one last chance.

If not, he has to make the trek back to Alexandria alone. If his father isn’t playing the calm leader right about now, then he’s losing his marbles and chopping down trees to trying to find him.

“Hey, are you listening to me, boy?” Dan hissed.

Carl might have been looking somewhere else; he often did that when he was lost in thought, but the Claimer sitting next to him didn’t take the act so lightly. Dan smacked the back of his hand across Carl’s face, snapping his head to the left suddenly.

Unfortunately, Carl’s first reaction was to retaliate and he feigned at Dan unconsciously as if he would have attacked the man right then and there if his hands weren’t being restrained. But as soon as he did it, he pulled back and realized his mistake when he glanced over the now glaring Dan’s shoulder. Joe had returned to the group and he stopped to see what had just occurred.

Carl could see Enid tensing up in the corner of his eye.

The leader cocked his head to the side and shot Carl a challenging stare before his voice made everyone in the group go silent. “Carl,” He said, shaking his head and then repeating the name as if the taste of it disgusted him. “Carl, Carl, Carl…. When we first…. _adopted_ you into our little family here, what did I tell you? I said respect those above you, didn’t I? What part of that didn’t you understand?”

“None of it apparently,” Len muttered under his breath.

Though unexpected, Carl was glad to see Enid step forward in his defense, even if she only made eye contact with Joe as she spoke. It was better than nothing. “And Dan doesn’t have to respect those below him? Carl is still a person and Dan has been treating him like his own pet _dog_. I’d be mad if I were Carl, too.”

Joe eyed Enid for a few seconds before reverting his gaze back to everyone else. It was like he didn’t even consider anything, nodding his head in Carl’s direction with a dirty gleam in his eyes as he said, “teach Carl here a lesson anyway.”

“Joe…!” Enid called. “But Dan was--!”

“I don’t care what Dan has been doing. I said respect those above you. Rules are rules and I’m supposed to enforce them,” Joe replied. “We need order. If it hadn’t been for those restraints, who knows what he might have done.”

“He wouldn’t have done anything--”

Joe ignored her and looked to his group. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

Nobody complained, getting up from whatever position they had made for themselves to follow Joe’s order. Carl had seen what they did to teach someone a lesson, and he didn’t like the idea of being beat to a pulp by the entire gang.

Then, Dan raised his hand and everybody stopped.

“Wait a minute,” the older man said, peering at Joe for his approval. Carl could have sworn he saw Dan grinning slightly when he murmured, “I have a _better_ way to teach him a lesson.”

It seemed that whatever Dan had in mind, Joe caught on to it because the older man returned the grin with a small one of his own and nodded. “Alright, do whatever you want. We’ll be up ahead. Stay on the path.” And with that, he whistled and the rest of the Claimers hurried to retrieve their things before following after their leader.

Dan wasted no time yanking Carl to his feet with a rough pull, nearly lifting him off the ground in the process. After handing his backpack to Lou, he put a hand to Carl’s back and ushered him in the opposite direction the group was heading in. Before they had put in enough distance, he risked one last glance over his shoulder.

Enid was a lot more slower about getting her stuff which was literally only a small bag. She put one of the straps over her shoulder and flashed Carl another look; one that seemed almost apologetic and soon had her back to him, having been coaxed by Lou to get moving.

As the gap between the rest of the group and them got bigger, Carl only grew more and more paranoid of the possibilities of what could go down. He did still have that knife he found in his pocket and if he was lucky, he could put it to use and return to Alexandria without problem. At least then, he wouldn’t have to worry about the rest of the Claimers.

However, if things didn’t go his way…

He didn’t even want to know the things Dan was probably planning to do to him right now.

The realization was nerve-wracking. If this didn’t go in his favor, Dan was going to have a lot of  _ fun  _ teaching him a lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update this uuuuuuuuug. Hopefully, I'll be faster next time ^^  
> Anyway comments/kudos appreciated c:


End file.
